Digimon Universe Introduces "Appmon" and "Digital Kids Card Game"

May 20th, 2016. Via Famitsu, Bandai announced today that the Digimon Universe Applimonsters property will be accompanied by a "Digital Kids Card Game" along with other products. The TV anime Digimon Universe Applimonsters will broadcast in Autumn 2016, as part of a cross-media project. The anime will also be accompanied by toys, "video games, and magazines among other things." A description of the anime series was provided, and is translated below.

The TV Anime "Digimon Universe Applimonsters" is...
The "Digital Monster," or "Digimon" series for short, originally began in 1997 with the LCD toy "Digital Monster," and in 1999 broadcast as the TV anime Digimon Adventure, from then on becoming beloved by people of all ages. Inheriting that genealogy is the new story Digimon Universe Applimonsters.

The keys to Universe are the "smartphone applications" that now connect many people all across the world. The setting is one where lying dormant in those "applications" are artificially intelligence lifeforms "Applimonsters," or "Appmon" for short, of which "There are only as many monsters as are applications." 

The Digimon series continues to fascinate with a future a little ways ahead.

Now in this work, "artificial intelligence" and a tour of battle become a big topic, and "Appmon" play a heated part.

Universe is a collaboration between the toy company Bandai, the game company Bandai Namco Entertainment, and the animation studio Toei Animation. More information on the series will be available at the 2016 Tokyo Toy Show on June 9th. The Toy Show will be open to the public beginning on the 11th.

New Series "Digimon Universe Applimonsters" Allegedly Leaked by the Site that Spoiled Xenoverse 2

05/19/2016 Update: This has been confirmed by images from V Jump.

May 17th, 2016. Japanese spoiler blog Alternator reported today that the latest issue of V Jump magazine contains an announcement of a new upcoming Digimon series, Digimon Universe Applimonsters. Said to be an Autumn 2016 collaboration between Bandai, Bandai Namco Entertainment, and Toei Animation, Universe Applimonsters is supposed to encompass a toyline, TV anime series, and video games. Alternator acquired the information via a furage ("Flying Get") meaning they acquired an issue of the magazine more than a day ahead of its street date. Such acquisitions are made possible by paying off middleman distributors, or stores that get their stock early. Alternator's original statement with an English translation is provided below.

「デジモンユニバース　アプリモンスターズ」
"Digimon Universe Applimonsters" (Dejimon Unibaasu Apurimonsutaazu)
バンダイ×バンダイナムコエンターテインメント×東映アニメーションのホビー・ゲーム・TVアニメ超大型プロジェクト2016年秋始動、というのですがどうもこれ名前からしてもスマりそう。
A super massive scale hobby, game, and TV anime project between Bandai x Bandai Namco Entertainment x Toei Animation beginning in Autumn 2016, or so it says, but going by this name it seems more likely to fit smartphones.
6/9からの東京おもちゃショー2016でさらなる情報解禁ともあるので、スマんなくても3DSったりはしそうですし。
Additional information will be unveiled at the Tokyo Toy Show beginning 6/9, if not for smartphones then likely for 3DS.
ちなみにおもちゃ連動という事でPSVitaの可能性は低かろうと考えていますが、デジモンワールドnext 0rderについても無料配信コンテンツで謎のデジモンが育成出来るという情報もあり、まだ動きは続いていきそうです。
By the way, I think the possibility of toys accompanying the PS Vita may be low, but since there is also information about freely distributed content for Digimon World -next 0rder- allowing you to raise a mysterious Digimon, this activity is likely to be followed up on.

Whether this news is to be regarded as trustworthy or not is a source of contention. The facts are as follows; Alternator has been around since April 2013, and in that time seems to have maintained a clean record, not attempting to spread hoaxes. The other statement in their post, that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will be announced for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, was proven true four and a half hours after they first reported it. Alternator normally labels rumors, but is treating Digimon Universe as fact. No other source has corroborated the Universe story, but the site also has a number of other claims made around the same time, and confirming or debunking them may point to the reliability of the Universe story;

• Weekly Famitsu volume 1433 features a Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- illustration as its cover image. (As of yet unproven; the "current" cover on Enterbrain's website is from volume 1432. This has been confirmed true as of 5/19/16.)
• At 9:52 PM on 05/17/2016 JST, Alternator reported that the same issue contains a lengthy interview with five team heads from Koei Tecmo, summarizing each person's portion. Approximately eight minutes later Hachima Kikou (veteran source of 9+ years) corroborated this. Alternator's summary matches up with the actual interview, down to the ordering of individual points like Ruby Party developing a "neoromance" title that will appeal to men as well as women, and the 20th anniversary of Atelier. An English translation of Hachima Kikou's version of the interview was published by Gematsu.
• At 1:57 AM on 05/11/2016 JST, Alternator reported that Persona 5 producer Hashino Katsura would be providing commentary in Dengeki PlayStation volume 614, which was confirmed within twenty-four hours by Persona Central's scans of the issue.
• They also described Divine Prison Tower: Mary Skelter and Genkai Tokki: Seven Pirates being covered in the same issue of Dengeki PlayStation, but no scans of these sections have surfaced. Their statement that the next issue would feature a full guide of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, as well as an introductory feature to Dragon Quest Heroes 2, were both later confirmed when images of the magazine cover were put out by Enterbrain.

The site's regulars are accepting the Universe story at face value, some of them expressing disappointment in the comments at the lack of a Cyber Sleuth 2. After scrutinizing Alternator's track record, I'm inclined to believe that they're telling the truth. Alternator has been publishing game news for several years with no indication of attempting to create or promote hoaxes, has put out reliable furage before, and has a relatively strong following for a site of its size that indicates a degree of trust. Whatever the truth is, we'll know come next V Jump. The next issue's street date is May 21st.

English Subbed Digimon Linkz 2/11 Trailer

February 11th, 2016. In today's Tokuban Adventure livestream a new two minute trailer for the 2016 smartphone game Digimon Linkz was shown to the public. Above is Tamer Union's subbed recording of the trailer. The trailer shows off the game's two main gameplay components, raising Digimon on a DigiFarm not unlike in the Digimon Story series, and engaging in three-on-three battles against both computer and human opponents.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed tp 2016 due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

-next 0rder- Smartphone Wallpaper Unlocked, Online War Greymon Evolved

February 9th, 2016. The official Digimon World -next 0rder- title site updated with the results of the game's Twitter campaign, which now reads "c0mplete." The online virtual pet hosted on the site finally evolved to War Greymon today after more than 25,000 tweets were made by fans promoting the game, unlocking many associated rewards. In total these comprise six Chain Melons for Japanese copies of -next 0rder-, and forty Digistones for Linkz. As was promised in the preceding Metal Greymon update, fans are being rewarded with not just in-game items, but also with two smartphone wallpapers. The first wallpaper is themed after the original V Jump promotional images of the game from late July to early August, while the second wallpaper is based on the game's cover.

A special message from Jijimon on the homepage thanks fans for all their hard work, congratulating them on raising a strong Digimon together. Fans can download the wallpapers here.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita for 6,980 yen (7,539 JPY after tax). It is the latest entry in the World series, succeeding directly from Re:Digitize Decode on the 3DS, Re:Digitize on the PSP, and World on the PSX.

Those that preorder the game will get access to five special DLC Digimon, a remastered copy of the 1999 Digimon World soundtrack, and two original Vita themes, "ver. Nostalgic" and "ver. Dot." Theme ver. Dot features a montage of original Digimon LCD sprites, while theme ver. Nostalgic turns the screen into the layout of a Digital Monster virtual pet. 

Digimon Linkz's Battle System is Based on Cyber Sleuth's

February 5th, 2016. The official Digimon Linkz title site updated today with additional information about the game's Command Battle System. According to the site, each Digimon in the game will have its own Leader Skills, Special Skills, Inheritable Skills, as well as Attributes and Resistances. This description invites immediate comparison with Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth on the PlayStation Vita and PS4, which also uses CBS and implemented a system of Special Skills, Inheritable Skills, and Attributes.

The update also shows off new key art of the game's navigator, Kurihara Hina, which was previously shown in an issue of AppliSoft magazine. Kurihara is designed by illustrator Okada Anmitsu. Her design includes a belt pouch shaped like an original Digital Monster virtual pet, with the zipper in the shape of an Adventure tag and crest.

Farm
A space where Digimon live. It's possible to build a wide range of facilities on the farm, not just for raising Digimon, but also for gaining the advantage in battle. The player challenges the recently-appeared "Digital World's strange phenomenon" using this farm as their base.

Battle
Use the Digimon you raised in the 3 vs 3 Command Battle System! The Digimon each have their own "Leader Skills," "Special Skills, Inheritable Skills," as well as "Attributes and Resistances" to gain the advantage in battle with and carry on to victory.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed tp 2016 due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

-next 0rder- Smartphone Wallpaper, Online Greymon Evolves to Metal Greymon

February 1st, 2016. Bandai's online virtual pet, hosted on the official Digimon World -next 0rder- title site, evolved to Perfect-level today. The Greymon that fans had raised over Twitter became Metal Greymon once it passed the 15,000 care mark, unlocking an additional Chain Melon and ten Digistones as in-game rewards for fans in -next 0rder- and Linkz. In order to reach Ultimate, Metal Greymon requires 25,000 cumulative care actions; at that point fans will unlock one more Chain Melon, 15 Digistones, and a Digimon World -next 0rder- smartphone wallpaper.

The Melons extend a Digimon's lifespan, while Digistones restore stamina. Previously, the online Digimon had evolved to Agumon on the 26th, and Koromon on the 25th. Fans can participate in the campaign by going to the page and clicking on エサをあげる ("Give food") which will create a premade tweet for them to share.

Digimon World -next 0rder- will launch in Japan March 17th, 2016, on the PlayStation Vita. Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016, on Android and iOS. 

Global Launch of Digimon Heroes Approaching

January 21st, 2016. The official Digimon Heroes Facebook page posted today hinting at a rapidly approaching global release for Heroes, the English-language localization of the Digimon Crusader mobile game. Until now Heroes has been restricted to specific regions; it was originally announced for a late 2015 global launch, but was delayed to fall 2016. More than 3,000 people had preregistered for the game the first day that registration opened late last December, and the current number of cumulative preregistrations at the time of this writing exceeds 19,000.

New Key Art for Digimon Linkz's Kurihara Hina Shown in AppliSoft

A spread from the December 28th issue of AppliSoft magazine uncovered by Japanese Digimon fan @morimoriurf over January 9th revealed new key art of Digimon Linkz navigator Kurihara Hina hatching a Botamon. The upcoming smartphone game will be focus on raising Digimon to have 3-on-3 battles, and will be available both in the App Store and on Google Play.

The issue confirms that Botamon, Koromon, Agumon, Gabumon, Gomamon, Tailmon, Gaomon, V-mon, Guilmon, Kuwagamon, Scumon, Diablomon, Monzaemon, and Hackmon will all be available in the game, but no concrete launch date has been set as of yet.

Linkz was originally announced for a 2015 launch, but was delayed due to production issues. More than fifty thousand people have preregistered for the game, and as part of its promotional campaign Bandai has set up a special LINE messaging account for it that sends information about the game to users' phones.

Digimon Linkz Is "In Development"

December 28th, 2015. The official @Digimon_game account tweeted that the upcoming smartphone game Digimon Linkz is "in development," asking fans to look forward to the game while its team makes improvements. Bandai also shared two screenshots from Linkz in the meantime. The images show a maxed-out Stamina bar, icons for Missions, Presents, a Digivice, options to Configure items in the DigiGarden, a Farm Goods option, and a Capture feature to acquire new Digimon. In the second screenshot, fans can also make out one of Digimon's traditional meat farms.

Digimon Linkz has had a troubled production since its first announcement, having its launch date delayed from 2015 to 2016, and very little concrete information about it is known. Most recently, the game introduced its navigator character Kurihara Hina to issue an apology for the delays. Nonetheless, the game has proved popular even in lieu of a release date, with over fifty thousand people having preregistered for the game as of last November.

Linkz will launch in 2016 on Android and iOS. The game will be free-to-play, with microtransactions. Watch the trailer here.

Digimon Linkz Introduces Navigator Kurihara Hina

December 9th, 2015. The official Digimon Linkz homepage updated today with a modified version of its previous announcement regarding the game's delay to 2016. The new version of the announcement introduces the game's navigator, Kurihara Hina (栗原ひな) who is designed by freelance illustrator Okada Anmitsu. The update also adds a new introduction for Linkz;

The Digital World, a place where the data of the real world ends up.
Within that world live the Digital Monsters, also called "Digimon."
Digimon Linkz is an application that connects the real world to a different one, the Digital World.
This story begins when you take Digimon Linkz into your hands.
Everything is connected, Digimon Linkz.

Over 50,000 users have currently preregistered for Linkz, which will be available on both Android and iOS. Those that preregister during the ongoing Start Dash campaign will receive a special V-mon and 20 Digistones in-game.

Agumon & Gabumon iPhone Cases Available for Preorder

December 8th, 2015. A representative of Japanese web shop Hobby Stock tweeted two upcoming products officially licensed from Bandai, a pair of smartphone cases featuring Digimon characters Agumon and Gabumon with their respective Digimon Adventure Crests of Courage and Friendship. The phone cases are made from silicone, intended for iPhone 6 and 6s models, and have a default price of 3,981 yen (approx. $33 at the current exchange rate). Currently the devices are available for preorder at 22% off through Hobby Stock, and are scheduled to go out in March 2016.

Soul Chaser Asks Korean Chosen Children to Return to the Digital World

Special thanks to @fuzzleyan for acting as our Korean consultant.

On November 24th, 2015, Bandai Namco Korea uploaded the first trailer for Digimon Soul Chaser, an upcoming smartphone RPG formerly known as Soul Hunter. The trailer plays heavily on Korean nostalgia for the first season of Digimon, using the anime's Korean dub opening theme Digimon Adventure by Hong Jongmyeon, and prominently features the Digimon partners of Adventure's Chosen Children. (Known in Korea as the Seontaek-badeun Ai-deul, a literal translation of the Japanese terminology.) A translation of the trailer's narration is provided below, in both English and Japanese, with Korean transcription.

Although the Korean dub was generally more faithful to the script of Digimon Adventure than the now-infamous American dub, it was extremely harsh on the series' setting, removing all references to Japan and renaming Japanese characters to be either Korean or ambiguously foreign (i.e. Takaishi Takeru became "Ricky"). Political tensions over Japan's colonization of Korea, and refusal to admit to war crimes or compensate the victims, have lead to strong cultural censorship of Japanese products in Korea, particularly anime. While Korea has been one of the strongest advocates for Digimon in the world, even joining in the 2002 D-1 Grand Prix and dubbing every anime up through Young Hunters, this policy of censorship continues. In part due to Japan's proximity, the Koreanization of Digimon appears paper-thin to Korean fans, who are are well aware of the series' Japanese roots.

The narration in the trailer is done by Jeong Misuk, the Korean dub voice of Yagami Taichi, while the theme song Digimon Adventure is the original version aired with the TV series.

Thanks to Dimensão Digimon for the tip.

English Translation

Another crisis comes to the Digital World!
Chosen Children!
Come back to the world of Digimon!
An RPG to restore your Digimon to Ultimate.
Help us! Greymon!
Greymon, evolve: Metal Greymon!
—Evolution—
—Raising—
—Leveling up—
Let's make our own super-powerful Digimon team!
Through many battles, you'll get stronger and stronger~
Let's complete a collection of the best Digimon!
Please make your reservation for Digimon Soul Chaser!
Advance reservation! Let's go!

Japanese Translation

デジタル世界にまた危機が来た！
選ばれし子供よ！
デジモンの世界に戻って！
完全体に戻ったデジモンRPG
助けてくれ！グレイモン！
グレイモン進化！ メタルグレイモン！
進化
育成
レベルアップ
極強のデジモンチームを作ろう！
多くの戦闘を介して
きみはますます強くなるだろう〜
最高のデジモンコレクションを完成しよう！
今すぐデジモンソウルチェイサーを予約してください！
事前予約！Let's go!

Korean Transcription

디지털 세계에 또다시 위기가 왔어!
선택받은 아이들아!!
디지몬의 세계로 돌아와!
완전체로 돌아온 디지몬 RPG
도와저! 그레이몬!
그레이몬 진화!
매탈그레이몬!
진화
육성
레벨업
극강의 디지몬 팀을 만들자!
수 많은 전투를 통해
넌 점점 더 강해질거야~
최고의 디지몬 컬렉션들 완성하자!
지금 바로 디지몬 소울 체이서를 예약하세요!
사전 예약! Let's go!

Over 3,000 Tamers Preregistered for Digimon Heroes

November 28th, 2015. Mobile application preregistration platform PreLaunch.Me has put up a page for the upcoming Digimon Heroes, the English-language localization of Digimon Crusader. At the time of this writing the Android version of Heroes is currently leading at 3,130 preregistrations, while the iOS version has just 19.

At present Heroes is only available in Australia, New Zealand, and Romania. Bandai US has indicated that there may be news on Heroes during their December 1st Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth livestream on Twitch.

More than 50,000 People Have Preregistered for Digimon Linkz

November 25th, 2015. Japanese gaming news outlet Inside Games reported than more than 50,000 people have registered for Digimon Linkz, Bandai Namco's 2016 iOS/Android app. In September 2015 Bandai implemented the Start Dash Campaign to reward players for the number of registrations, promising a V-mon gift at the 10,000 registration milestone, and later 20 Digistones once the app hit 50,000 preregistered.

Digistones are an in-game item used to recover a Digimon's stamina, allowing the player to continue training their Digimon past the normal limit for one day. Linkz takes cues from the Digimon Story series in giving the player a DigiFarm they can train and raise Digimon on, before taking their monsters into dungeons or battling other tamers.

A Digistone

Originally announced for Autumn 2015, Linkz was later moved to a 2016 launch date for development purposes. According to Inside, Linkz deals with a "disaster" in the Digital World--the first anything has been said of the game's plot.

Digimon Linkz will launch in 2016 on Android and iOS. The game will be free-to-play, with microtransactions. Watch the trailer here.

Bandai Publishes Digimon Linkz Trailer

November 24th, 2015. Bandai Namco Entertainment has published a trailer on their official YouTube channel for upcoming smartphone game Digimon Linkz, identical to the video uploaded by V Jump for TGS2015 earlier this year. The game's farm system is derived from the Digimon Story series, with a gashapon machine replacing the standard shops, while its 3-on-3 battle system is partially borrowed from Cyber Sleuth.

Instead of SP, Digimon in Linkz are shown to have AP gauges divided into a fixed number of bars, and the battle menus read (clockise) "ATK, AP2, Activate, AP3" rather than the normal Sleuth menu. The player is also given the option to set the speed of animations in the game while in-battle, while in Sleuth they could only turn the animations on or off in the field.

Digimon Linkz will be available on Android and iOS phones in 2016. Those that preregister for the game will be eligible to receive a special V-mon in-game.

Digimon World -next 0rder- Will Be at Jump Festa 2016

Makuhari Messe, the site of Jump Festa.

November 24th, 2015. The Digimon World -next 0rder- title site updated today with an announcement that the 2016 game will be featured at this year's Jump Festa, held on December 19th and 20th at Makuhari Messe. The official Digimon games Twitter account confirmed this, asking readers to come play at JF2016. -next 0rder- will likely be hosted at Exhibition Zone 2 at the Bandai Namco Entertainment/Banpresto booth.

Some Japanese fans have responded to the announcement negatively on Twitter, demanding instead to know if the smartphone game Digimon Linkz will be present at JF2016. Very little information about the mobile game has been given since its TGS trailer. While past issues of V Jump have featured small splash sections encouraging users to preregister for Linkz to receive a V-mon in-game, the lack of information has been frustrating for some.

Jump Festa is an annual media expo first formed in 1999, and promoted through a collaboration of several Jump brand magazines, including Weekly Jump, Shounen Jump+, V Jump magazine, and Jump SQ. Formed through a coalition of Shueisha and associated companies, Bandai's Digimon was a foundational work for the expo, having its own booth at the first event, Jump Festa 2000. Although in the past Jump Festa was held at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Tokyo Bay, beginning with JF2004 the event was relocated to Makuhari Messe, where it has stayed ever since.

Digimon World -next 0rder- and Linkz TGS2015 Trailers

September 17th, 2015. Digimon World -next 0rder-'s official promotional video is now available through V Jump's public YouTube channel. Featuring our first real gameplay clips, the trailer shows off travel in the field, evolution, and the game's battle system. It opens with the (untranslated) phrases "I'm hungry," "I want dinner," "Waii!" "Friend," "Play," "Welcome home," and finally "Thank you." The player's Digimon can be seen speaking to them in real time as they travel the digital world, asking to be fed, expressing excitement, and sleepiness.

The player characters can be seen traveling through several areas, including a beached shipwreck, a desert of communication racks, and a city. The storyline dialogue sequences use a more polished version of Cyber Sleuth's engine, while the battle system is original (seen from 1:20 on). The trailer also features two of the Royal Knights Digimon, Alphamon and Omegamon, briefly fighting before its end, and a mysterious new Digimon at the 2:15 mark.

The shorter Linkz trailer shows Digimon being raised on a Digifarm, and battling in a mobile replica of Cyber Sleuth's battle system. The game was previously detailed along with -next 0rder- in this month's issue of V Jump.